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Who is Bill Galey?
From Teaching and Research to Helping Students Discover Physiology

William (Bill) R Galey, Jr., was born in Boise, Idaho. He grew up on a small farm in Idaho and was fascinated by the birth, growth, and death of the farm animals about him. He always wanted to know “how and why” things, such as plants and animals, and even machines, work the way they do. He decided to study science because of his interest in understanding how things work.

Finding Physiology
Bill always knew he wanted to go to college, although no one in his family had gone before him. Although his mother had gone to nursing school, at that time, college was not required to study to become a Registered Nurse. Bill decided to go college at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from college in 1965, he decided to continue with school and get a PhD degree studying biochemistry at the University of Oregon Medical School. As he was working on his degree, he found that his greatest interest was in physiology and biological physics (biophysics). His research project for his PhD also ended up being more physiology than biochemistry. After receiving his PhD degree in 1969, he did additional training (called a postdoctoral fellowship) at Harvard Medical School in a biophysical laboratory and then worked for a short time in a pharmaceutical company. He then got offered a job in a department of physiology at the University of New Mexico. It was at this time he finally was identified as a “real physiologist.”

Being a Physiologist
Dr. Galey worked at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in the Department of Physiology for over 25 years. His research tried to understand the relationship between membrane structure and function in both single-cell membranes and membranes composed of numerous cells. He was very interested in trying to understand how cell membranes "age." A second area of interest was using human red blood cells as carriers of drugs that could be used to treat or diagnose health problems.

He also taught medical, graduate, and undergraduate students during that time, and received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year award in 1993. It was during his last 10 years at the University of New Mexico that Dr Galey became much more involved in graduate education and research administration. He also became very involved in helping middle school and high school teachers develop new ways to teach science.

Changing Careers
As he became more involved with students, researchers, and teachers, he became more interested in improving the way the medical sciences are taught and learned. He also saw the great need to encourage medical students to learn how to do research so they can see how new drugs and treatments are developed. As a result of his involvement in the education of MD and PhD students at his own school, he was asked to help other schools not only across the US but around the world as well. He gave talks and worked with schools to figure out how best to improve their programs. Because of all these activities, Dr. Galey was asked by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to think about working for them. HHMI is the world’s largest private foundation supporting biomedical research. He decided to take the job, change careers to a more administrative career, and move across the country from New Mexico to Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Currently, Dr. Galey is working as the Director of Graduate Education Programs for HHMI. The group he leads gives fellowships to PhD students, MD students, and postdoctoral fellows and gives grants to colleges that provide training to those types of students. He also directs a program between HHMI and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that gives medical students one year of research training experience at the NIH.

Because of Dr. Galey’s knowledge, he has been asked to serve on many local and national committees and boards, including for APS. He is very involved in the Teaching of Physiology Section of APS. This year he was asked to be the Chair of the APS Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee, which develops material and programs to encourage students to consider a career in science and physiology.

For Fun
Dr. Galey has four children. He likes to be with them and read, hike, and camp. He also likes to grow gardens, listen to music, and attend plays and movies. Until recently he was a pilot and flew his own airplane around the country whenever he needed to go somewhere. 

Dr. Galey is very involved in volunteer work. He worked with teachers in their classrooms and with kids in science programs other than at school. He has volunteered for many years as a science fair judge. He’s also worked with the Boy Scouts and has volunteered with a group feeding the homeless.